Samsung Galaxy S2 vs HTC One X vs Sony Xperia S

[34064 Fighter Command]

Can I steer this away from phones and talk about contracts?

I have a HTC Hero and had a contract with 3 which I stopped but haven't yet moved to a different network.

I really want a SIM only pay-as-you-go deal as I don't want to swap handsets ( doesn't matter if I end up with a different number ). Main use will be internet surfing rather than phone or texting.

What are the best deals out there? Does heavy internet use really mean I have to go back to a contract deal? Don't have broadband at home so not interested in any 'bundled' offers.

 

[markw]

If you have android then get juicedefender, absolutely brilliant app that has extended my battery life from a day to 2-3 days on my xperia arc.

 

[AMEXican Wave]

To be honest just manually turning off the data services when you are not actually using them, will dramatically increase your battery life.

 

[Mellotron]

Oh dear dear dear...........I have both an iPhone 4 and an HTC Sensation XL (work and personal). The HTC is a far better phone in every way. They always have been hence why I've had an HTC for the past 10 years!

Range of apps? I'm sorry but in that field you cannot argue that iPhone doesn't absolutely destroy all competitors.

 

[DarrenFreemansPerm]

I've had an HTC One X for a couple of weeks now.

It's absolutely f***ing amazing. The internet loads just as quickly as my wife's iPad, the navigation is really smooth and the apps download super-quickly as well.

The camera is superb as well.

It's an incredible phone - you will not be disappointed.

Cool. The HTC's previously suffered from shoddy build quality didn't they? I presume that is no longer the case?

I'm torn between this and the S3, definitely not another iPhone !

 

[JJB]

Range of apps? I'm sorry but in that field you cannot argue that iPhone doesn't absolutely destroy all competitors.

Forgive me if i'm wrong, but i'm pretty sure that the App Store has been completely dwarfed by the Android Market/Google Play?

 

[Mellotron]

Forgive me if i'm wrong, but i'm pretty sure that the App Store has been completely dwarfed by the Android Market/Google Play?

Android has overtaken Apple in quantity, but recent app revenue:

Apple: £1.1bn
Android: £62m

would suggest Apple is a long long LONG way ahead in terms of apps worth actually opening.

 

[rouseytastic]

Range of apps? I'm sorry but in that field you cannot argue that iPhone doesn't absolutely destroy all competitors.

Well if by range you mean quantity then iPhone does win however there are just as many quality apps on the Android Market. Plus a lot of apps that cost money on the App Store are free on Android. Angry Birds is one example

 

[markw]

Android has overtaken Apple in quantity, but recent app revenue:

Apple: £1.1bn
Android: £62m

would suggest Apple is a long long LONG way ahead in terms of apps worth actually opening.

Would that not be because a lot more android apps are free and iphone owners silly enough to pay for the same?

 

[Mellotron]

Would that not be because a lot more android apps are free and iphone owners silly enough to pay for the same?

Max Payne and Grand Theft Auto 3 are free on Android?

Football Manager?
Infinity Blade?
The Kairosoft games?
The PopCap games?
Minecraft?
Osmos?

Thought as much.

 

[Bozza]

Can I steer this away from phones and talk about contracts?

I have a HTC Hero and had a contract with 3 which I stopped but haven't yet moved to a different network.

I really want a SIM only pay-as-you-go deal as I don't want to swap handsets ( doesn't matter if I end up with a different number ). Main use will be internet surfing rather than phone or texting.

What are the best deals out there? Does heavy internet use really mean I have to go back to a contract deal? Don't have broadband at home so not interested in any 'bundled' offers.

GiffGaff - a tenner a month for unlimited data, unlimited texts and more minutes calls than I ever use.

It's rebranded O2 so decent coverage.

I stream online radio to my phone over 3G most of the day at work for no additional cost.

 

[Bozza]

Would that not be because a lot more android apps are free and iphone owners silly enough to pay for the same?

No.

Android users are, as a generalisation, tight and/or poor. They want a phone for as cheap as possible and will rarely, if ever, pay for apps. As such developers have to release ad-loaded versions on Android to try and get some traction. Very often the same exists on iOS but ad-free versions exist too for those rich enough to be able to afford 69p or whatever.

Android is massively fractured in terms of processing power, screen size/resolution and flavours of Android being used. Industry surveys show developers rapidly turning off Android development understandably so. There's gold in them there iOS hills. There seems to be shit in the Android ones.

 

[seagulls4ever]

Max Payne and Grand Theft Auto 3 are free on Android?

Football Manager?
Infinity Blade?
The Kairosoft games?
The PopCap games?
Minecraft?
Osmos?

Thought as much.

It's true, there's loads of free Andriod apps which iPhone users end up having to pay for. For example, my dictaphone app on my Andriod cost me nothing, whereas my mate had to pay 10 quid for a decent one on the iPhone. I don't know if there were the option of free ones on iPhone, but he said that was the only decent one he could find. My one which is free does the job just as well.

Plus, many Andriod apps contain advertisements instead of you having to pay for them (the revenue from these adds won't be included in your stated app revenue). And if you don't want the advertisements, then you have the option to pay to remove them.

So in short app revenue provides no clue as to quality of apps.

 

[Titanic]

No.

Android users are, as a generalisation, tight and/or poor. They want a phone for as cheap as possible and will rarely, if ever, pay for apps. As such developers have to release ad-loaded versions on Android to try and get some traction. Very often the same exists on iOS but ad-free versions exist too for those rich enough to be able to afford 69p or whatever.

Android is massively fractured in terms of processing power, screen size/resolution and flavours of Android being used. Industry surveys show developers rapidly turning off Android development understandably so. There's gold in them there iOS hills. There seems to be shit in the Android ones.

With Samsung (93m) + Nokia (83m) outselling Apple (35m) worldwide by more than 5 to 1 in the first 3 months of this year, it would seem rather thick to ignore the 'shit' end of the market though.

 

[tycoon0_0]

Of the three phones you initially mentioned, there is no competition. The HTC One X is the best Android phone currently available.

Screen resolution is incomparable, operating system is dare I say it slicker than an iPhone and the handset is really well crafted. Feels solid and light without the tackiness of the S2.

BUT the Samsung Galaxy S3 is due for on May 3rd and at the moment any information online is purely rumour and speculation.

So, if you have until May 1st I'd recommend waiting for the S3 info to come out and check out some reviews when it does.

 

[Mellotron]

OK....I am an iPhone 4 owner due for upgrade in about 2/3 months time. I am actually OPEN to the idea of an S3.

Can someone with an S2 sell it to me?

 

[BHA Benny]

Friends got the sony experia i think its amazing, the battery life is really good too

 

[Aadam]

Having spent the best part of the last 6 months working on mobile applications and testing on the Samsung Galaxy S2, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and the iPhone 4 I would go iPhone all the time. Doen't crash, the app store is malware free, the phone runs and looks better.

I'd stay away from the S2, it's a very bad phone and it's use of Android software is poor. If you must go Android, I would say to take a look at the Nexus, it's a very good phone with an OLED screen.

I cannot remember who, someone like t-mobile are doing a deal with iPhone to get the phone free.

 

[4-p]

I rooted my S2 almost immediately, so many roms, found a decent one, great battery life, very swift and a couple of cheeky extras. Love the phone. Used to have a 3gs, Had an iPhone 4s for about 9 hours - bought it, set it up, tried to use it, soo clunky, took it back next day.

However, lots of people like the iPhone, I don't hate it, it just doesn't feel as good as my SGS2.

 

[markw]

No.

Android users are, as a generalisation, tight and/or poor. They want a phone for as cheap as possible and will rarely, if ever, pay for apps. As such developers have to release ad-loaded versions on Android to try and get some traction. Very often the same exists on iOS but ad-free versions exist too for those rich enough to be able to afford 69p or whatever.

Android is massively fractured in terms of processing power, screen size/resolution and flavours of Android being used. Industry surveys show developers rapidly turning off Android development understandably so. There's gold in them there iOS hills. There seems to be shit in the Android ones.

A bit of a generalisation,the best android phones absolutely wipe the floor with the iphone. As for apps, i get the same apps as my iphone loving friends for around a third of the price, pleasing as i can put the saved money towards a phone that makes calls reliably! The company i work for just bought 30000 iphone 4's for every worker, this pleased the apple lovers! 3 months down the line they are going back to apple as the apps specific to the company do not work well and the huge problem of reception problems/dropping calls in a company that relies on accurate communications.